Israel-Iran Conflict: How 'Cluster Bomb' Works, Why It's Controversial
New Delhi:
Israel has alleged that Iran fired a missile with cluster bomb warhead on a civilian area. The missile started releasing the bomblets at an altitude of 23,000 feet (7 km). The Iranian missile scattered at least 20 bomblets across a radius of 8 km.
Here are 5 points about cluster munitions
One of the small munitions struck a home in the central Israeli town of Azor, causing some damage, Times of Israel reported. There were no reports of casualties from the bomb.
Cluster bombs are controversial because they indiscriminately scatter submunitions, some of which can fail to explode and kill or injure long after a conflict ends.
Iran and Israel declined to join a 2008 international ban on the production, stockpiling, transfer and use of cluster bombs that has been signed by 111 countries and 12 other entities.
After extensive debate, the US in 2023 supplied Ukraine with cluster munitions for use against Russian forces. Kyiv says Russian troops have also fired cluster munitions.
"They are egregious weapons with their wide-area destruction, especially if used in a civilian populated area and could add to the unexploded ordnance left over from conflicts," Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association advocacy group, told news agency Reuters.
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